


Et Cum Quæsierit

by CAWCAWcastiel



Category: One Piece
Genre: Ace Lives, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Romance, F/M, Grief/Mourning, M/M, More characters to be added, More tags to be added, Resurrection, Slight swearing, Some old guy named Assa, They're pirates come on, eventual Marco/Ace, unamed devil fruits
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-17
Updated: 2018-02-23
Packaged: 2019-03-20 04:42:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13710057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CAWCAWcastiel/pseuds/CAWCAWcastiel
Summary: When Ace is suddenly resurrected by a strange old man with no motive to speak of, a series of events that no one could have predicted is set into motion.





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> It's been so long since I last posted anything on here... I've been very into One Piece for the last year or two, but I haven't been confident enough to post any of the stuff I've written for it until now. 
> 
> Obviously, I'm still denying Ace's death even though it's been years lol. Oh well. And I know this trope is kind of used a lot but I wanted to try my hand at it.
> 
> I'm not sure how often I'll be able to update this fic either, but I'm going to try for at least once a week (that's me being hopeful). 
> 
> First chapter is shorter than the rest are going to be, by the way, since I'm still playing with some plot issues. This is just a sample.
> 
> Anyways, Enjoy!

At first, he doesn't know what he's feeling.

One moment, he's light as a butterfly upon a breeze, and the next he seems to be dropping, stomach rising into his throat as he chokes, struggling to breathe in the stifling darkness surrounding him. His fingers clench, muscles seizing and surprise making way for panic.

He tries to move, lift his arms, raise his head, anything, but something around him prevents any movement at all, amping his panic up another level.

But suddenly, there's a murky light behind his eyelids, which he hadn't realized he'd had closed. A weight is lifted slowly, but surely, off of his body. Something creaks ominously, like the splitting of old wood.

And then the air floods his lungs.

His eyes snap open just as suddenly as he sits upright, muscles aching and breathing like he's just run a twenty kilometer marathon. He vaguely feels his head collide with a hard object, but pays it no mind as his senses go on utter _overload_ , light gushing into his vision and blinding him while he struggles to gain control of his limbs, tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth like a fly to a flytrap and tasting like _ew_.

It takes a few moments, but he gets his breathing under control, managing to unstick his tongue and lick his cracked lips, despite the little it actually does for him.

He hears a groan, and forces his neck muscles to work so he can turn his head towards the sound. There, he finds a man, gray and aged and fragile-looking, laying atop some wooden planks and surrounded by a rather large mound of dirt, clutching his forehead with his eyes clenched. He realizes the thing he hit earlier was probably the man's  _head._

"What a way to rise again, young lad," The man sighs, finally opening his eyes to focus a narrowed gaze on his junior. "But, all the same, welcome back to the land of the living, Portgas D. Ace."


	2. Grief

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this chapter didn't exactly turn out like I wanted it to, but that's okay. I can live with it. I'll probably come back and edit it later.
> 
> Warning: Slight swearing from Ace in this chapter, because really now, he's a pirate.
> 
> For now, enjoy!

Ace blinks, long and slow, feeling the sharpness of the sunlight against his eyes. Processes what the man just said. Blinks once. Twice. Thrice more.

Finally, his mind, rusty from disuse, settles on one thought.

"What," Comes the croak that's apparently his voice. He works his throat a bit, swallowing painfully, before he tries again. "What the _fuck_."

The old man raises a single weary eyebrow in front of him, obviously unimpressed. He eases back onto his feet, and Ace can practically hear how the guy's back creaks with age as he straightens.

Ace watches curiously as he crawls out of what is now evidently a hole in the ground, barely struggling despite how pitiful he first seemed, and raises a hand to rub at his eyes when they itch from holding them open.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, lad," The man says, now perched on the edge of the hole. "Those hands haven't seen soap and water for ages."

Ace furrows his brows, and looks down to realize his hands are absolutely _coated_  in dirt and who knows what else, utterly _filthy_. He abruptly pulls the offending appendages from his face, while said face sports a fairly irritated expression. The man gives a hearty laugh above him.

"We'll get you cleaned up soon enough, don't you worry. Now come, try and get those young legs moving."

Ace is beginning to believe that this old guy is some kind of messed up. He tries valiantly to move the muscles in his legs through the aches and pains that mean his body obviously protests the movement, and succeeds only in kneeling, thighs screaming at him to _sit back down right this moment_. When he tries his hand at standing up, he's sure he looks like an overgrown baby deer taking its first steps. All the while the man sits there, staring at him with a look in his eyes and a tilt to his mouth that imply he's amused as all hell.

"You're of a determined sort, aren't ya, lad?"

Ace huffs with exertion, briefly making eye contact. He tries a step, and makes an internal sound of glee when he succeeds in staying steady, venturing to make his way to the edge of the hole.

When he gets there, he smirks up at the old man with a look that says, _What now, huh?_

"Oyaji!" Comes a different voice, all of a sudden, and while Ace's chest squeezes painfully at the word, the man above him turns to look at the source. A young boy comes into view, green eyes bright under blond hair as he grins. "I brought the cloak you asked for!"

The man smiles fondly as he takes the article from the boy. "Thank you, Tam. Now, would you mind helping this youngster, here?"

It's only then that the boy notices Ace, and he blinks before he startles and jumps to the edge of the hole, reaching for one of Ace's hands. "Ah! I-I'm sorry, Aniki! I didn't see you there!" Ace lets himself be pulled up, the boy surprisingly strong for how young he looks. He predictably falls on the smaller boy the moment he's out, his legs draining of their strength, and Tam grunts under his weight, but manages to stay standing.

Ace mutters an apology, sheepish, but whips his head around to glare when the old man laughs behind him.

"What's so funny?" He asks, indignant. Tam shifts beneath him so that Ace has an arm slung across the boy's shoulders, feeling a smaller arm wrap around his waist to give him more stability as he faces the laughing demon of a man.

The man waves a hand in front of his face, disregarding Ace's indignance. "Ah, nothing, nothing, lad! Anyways, I'm not so sure we've introduced ourselves, have we?" He asks, and Ace shakes his head slowly, face relaxing as he also realizes his rudeness. "I am Assa, the one who brought you back from the land of the dead. And this here is my grandson, Tam."

Tam grins and waves up at him from where he still supports Ace's weight.

Ace is about to introduce himself as well, before it kicks him in the head that this is the second time the man--Assa, he reminds himself-- has mentioned his apparent resurrection. He blinks, and bows politely, but manages with a voice that's still too rough for his liking, "Um, nice to meet you, Assa-ossan. But, what do you mean, about me being brought back from the dead?"

The man's face falters slightly, and Ace can feel Tam shifting uncomfortably underneath him.

Assa recovers quickly though, and offers a small tilt of his lips. "Well, perhaps we can discuss that later, when we are not so exposed to outside eyes and ears? It's a fairly sensitive matter, as it is to be expected." His eyes show Ace his hesitance, and he nods in response to the reasoning. "But, we should get you cleaned up and comfortable before then, yes?"

\--------

Ace is covered in the cloak brought for him (because it's oddly cold outside to him now for some reason), led to a small boat just off the coast of what appears to be a tiny island designated as the gravesite of many pirates, specifically Whitebeard Pirates, and settled on a bench inside the only available cabin. He stares blankly at the wall, contemplating his situation while Tam paces behind him.

Only moments ago, he'd been almost dragged from the gravesite of Edward Newgate, his father and a man who had apparently been dead for two years now. He'd resisted the insistent tug from Tam with all the body strength he could muster, but had been forced to give in at Assa's concerns they'd be spotted. By who, Ace didn't know, but didn't particularly care.

It's only now that the full implications of what he's seen settles on him, and a coldness sits in his chest that wasn't there before.

Oyaji is dead.

Apparently, Ace is supposed to be as well, if the way he'd been dragged from a hole in the ground, _a grave_ , is any indication.

But, somehow, the realization that _Oyaji is dead_  strikes home more than the idea of his apparent rebirth. A flicker of panic, of utter, complete grief, grips his heart and makes it hard to breath. He feels tears burning at the back of his eyes, and can't help but remember the circumstances surrounding Whitebeard's death, hand coming up to grip at the horrible _ache_  and _pain_ that lurks there in his chest, no matter how nonexistent it is now, no matter how safe he is now.

He can't rid himself of the image of his father standing there in absolute defiance of the government until the very end, of the question he'd asked his youngest son, the last words Ace would ever hear from him.

_Was I a good father?_

_Of course you were!_

It hurts, _it hurts so much_ , and Ace almost doesn't think he can bear it, without the man who saved his life from the black hole that he'd fallen into before they met.

He doesn't think about the rest of his nakama, for sanity's sake, because he doesn't know who's left, if there even are any Whitebeard Pirates left after all that happened. He wants to know, he really does, but he can't think about it now, not when his heart feels filled to the brim with grief enough as it is, as if it'll explode in his chest if there's any more added to it.

The feeling is almost like when Sabo died, and, oh god, _Luffy_.

How was _Luffy_ faring? He can't seem to forget his little brother's horrified expression, how he could feel the start of hiccuping sobs beneath his chest as he died in the teen's arms, breaking his promise and leaving Luffy all alone without either of his brothers to watch out for him. Luffy had barely coped with Sabo's death as children, how would he cope with Ace's?

He's dragged back into reality by a wet cloth touching his face, making him startle back. Tam looks apologetically back at him from where he'd moved while Ace was spaced out, sitting on a stool next to a table with a basin of water on it that wasn't there before. He reaches out again to touch Ace's face, and this time he doesn't flinch back, the coolness of the cloth anchoring him.

Each time Tam pulls the rag away, it comes back with more dirt, and Ace can't help but notice how murky the water in the basin is getting. It glides smoothly over every inch of available skin, and Tam had him get rid of all his clothing beforehand, so it seems like some sort of meager bath as most of the grime is wiped away.

When he's almost done, and seems to be finally plopping the rag back into the basin for the last time, Ace feels this is his chance.

"My brother," Ace says, and feels no surprise that those are the words he chooses. "Is my brother okay?" _Is Luffy alive?_

Tam blinks, surprised by the question, before his eyes light in understanding. He nods, and Ace feels unbridled relief in his chest at the action even before the boy goes to explain.

"He and his crew had disappeared for around two years after the War of The Best," Ace blinks at the name, "but they came back and took the world by storm." He goes on to describe most of the crew's antics up until the current point, although small in details and obviously missing some gaps here and there, but it makes the grip constricting his heart loosen just a little at each new adventure, each new tale of liberation or miracle that the Straw Hat Pirates have pulled off while he was gone. The idea that Luffy continued being _Luffy_ settles a little bit of his worries, and he smiles at the enthusiasm with which Tam tells him his stories.

\---------

Eventually, after Tam has cleaned him up to the best of his abilities, apologizing for his limited resources (it seems both the old man and the boy live on this boat, and this is all they can offer to him), and Ace has dressed in the clothes they brought for him (a red woolen sweater that's a little too big for him, black shorts not unlike his previous ones that hug his hips too snugly, and a pair of flip flops that remind him achingly of Luffy), Assa hobbles into the room. The space is cramped, and Ace still sits on the bench as the man moves to the nearest cot in the center.

Once he's settled, Assa looks seriously at Ace. It seems like the first time the old man is really seeing him, inside and out, and it creeps him out.

"So you probably want to know how you're alive, boy."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're wondering about the names, "Assa" means "healer" or "morning", while "Tam" means "innocent, honest, naive". Both of these names I chose for kind of obvious reasons, as you can probably tell. 
> 
> I'm not sure how I did with Ace's characterization here, and I realize some of the transitions are kind of rushed, so I'm trying to work on that. Still, I appreciate any and all feedback or criticism, so please review! 
> 
> Also, if you see any grammatical errors, don't be afraid to tell me and I'll fix them right away!
> 
> Thank you!

**Author's Note:**

> Please don't be afraid to review!
> 
> I take all reviews into consideration, and trust me I can take criticism since it helps me know what I need to work on. Also, if you see a mistake somewhere, whether it be grammatical or plot-based, point it out to me and I'll fix it, because I don't have a beta.
> 
> Thank you!


End file.
